Hugo Broos has revealed what he told his players at half-time ahead of their two-goal capitulation against Liberia.
Bafana, in the three-team Group K, were cruising in the first half through goals by Lyle Foster, but failed to increase the score-line after wasting multiple chances before and after the break.
It allowed the Lone Stars to stay in the game and after they scored the equaliser in the dying minutes, Broos, in disbelief in what he saw, quickly vanished off and did not conduct his post match TV duties, a clear indication that he was furious at how his side collapsed when they were in ascendancy.
When he was not availing himself to the journalists in the post mandatory post-match press conference, the media was up in arms and Broos crumbled to the pressure before coming out to brief the media in, saying it was too much for him to take questions from the journalists.
Now a calmer Broos has explained he had warned his players at half-time of exactly the script that ended up happening in the second interval.
“I said it also to the players during half-time that they have to be very careful, if we are going like this that we maybe concede a goal and once that goal came, then it’s always when it’s 2-1 they will get motivation and the other team is starting doubting,” he told SAFA.
“That’s what happened with us. I said it in the half-time, please don’t let that happen. Then when you see that that happened and then the second goal comes, yes ok you’re full of emotions and you don’t want to see it anymore and you run away.”
Bafana, even though they drew the game that was easy on the eye, still maintained their unbeaten run in the AFCON qualifiers at home, with the last time losing in Mzansi was in 2007 against Zamba in Cape Town.
Bafana, to cut a long route to Liberia and avoid the jetlag, left Mzansi on the chartered flight on Sunday morning. A win in Monrovia would see them book their ticket for the Africa Cup of Nations, while a draw makes things difficult and a defeat would mean South Africa miss another AFCON, which would probably mean the end of Broos’ spell.
